Photos of the week

Matara, Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan army soldiers march during a Victory Day parade, May 18, 2014.

Sri Lanka's government Sunday marked the 5th anniversary of the civil war victory over ethnic Tamil separatists by displaying its military strength, while preventing Tamil civilians from publicly remembering their dead.

Credit: Eranga Jayawardena/AP

Matara, Ukraine

New recruits to the pro-Russian activist movement undergo basic training in the district administration building, May 18, 2014.

Credit: Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters

Bambari, Central African Republic

A boy gestures in front of a barricade on fire during a protest after French troops opened fire at protesters blocking a road, May 22, 2014.

Credit: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters

Shanghai, China

Afghan President Hamid Karzai walks away after shaking hands with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping before the opening ceremony in the Expo Center during the fourth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia summit, May 21, 2014.

Credit: Aly Song/Reuters

Manaus, Brazil

A sloth peeks out from behind a door on a floating house in the 'Lago do Janauari', May 20, 2014.

Mariupol, Ukraine

A week before presidential elections are scheduled, questions remain whether the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk are stable enough to administer the vote.

Credit: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Tokyo, Japan

A couple sticks their heads out of holes while taking a photograph at a public park, May 19, 2014.

Credit: Shizuo Kambayashi/AP

Obrenovac, Serbia

A religious statue is seen in front of a flooded house, May 20, 2014.

Soldiers and energy workers stacked thousands of sandbags overnight to protect Serbia's biggest power plant from flood waters expected to keep rising after the heaviest rains in the Balkans in more than a century killed dozens of people.

Credit: Marko Djurica/Reuters

Pyongyang, North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiles during a visit to Taesongsan General Hospital in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency, May 19, 2014.

Credit: KCNA/Reuters

Sydney, Australia

Tropical Blue-and-gold Macaws are seen at Bronte Beach, May 23, 2014.

Sydney is experiencing it's hottest May on record, already recording its hottest week for this time of year in over 150 years.

Manaus, Brazil

Elmont, N.Y.

California Chrome is bathed after jogging around the track at Belmont Park, May 21, 2014.

California Chrome arrived in New York on Tuesday to begin preparations for his bid to become horse racing's first Triple Crown winner in 36 years.

Credit: Seth Wenig/AP

Maiduguri, Nigeria

Joy Bishara, one of the school girls that escaped by jumping from the truck the night she was kidnapped by Islamist extremist, waits outside her family house in Chibok.

Traditional hunters armed with homemade guns, poisoned speers and amulets have gathered in their hundreds, eager to use their skills and what they believe to be supernatural powers to help find nearly 300 schoolgirls abducted by Islamic extremists.

Credit: Sunday Alamba/AP

Maiduguri, Nigeria

A man shows off the powers of his charms by putting fire to his neck at a camp of a vigilante group of traditional hunters, May 21, 2014.

About 100 traditional hunters from villages in Borno state have gathered in a camp in Maiduguri and volunteered to hunt for Boko Haram to the local government. The local government gives them two meals per day, they say.

Valjevo, Serbia

A man walks past a house tilted by floods, May 21, 2014.

Credit: Marko Djurica/Reuters

Bangkok, China

Thai soldiers stand guard during a coup at the Army Club where Thailand's army chief held a meeting with all rival factions in central May 22, 2014. Thailand's army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha took control of the government in the coup on Thursday saying the army had to restore order and push through reforms, two days after he declared martial law.

Credit: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

Soma, Turkey

A police water canon is used against anti government protesters, May 16, 2014.

Hundreds of protesters took part in the march against the government and there were clashes with the police forces. An explosion and fire at a coal mine killed hundreds of workers, authorities said, in one of the worst mining disasters in Turkish history.

Credit: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

Shanghai, China

Ivana Spanovic of Serbia competes at the women's long jump at the IAAF Diamond League athletics meet, May 18, 2014.

Credit: Carlos Barria/Reuters

New York

Firefighters, police, members of the military and the public participate in the ceremonial transfer of the National 9/11 Flag into the The National September 11 Memorial Museum permanent collection, May 21, 2014.

The giant American Flag, which was flying from a building beside the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and was later found badly damaged in the debris of ground zero, was unfurled at the World Trade Center site in a ceremony. The flag was refolded and firefighters marched it into the museum. The National September 11 Memorial Museum opened its doors to the general public today.

Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Ahmedabad, India

BJP leader Narendra Modi is blessed by his mother Heeraben Modi on her front porch, May 16, 2014.

Credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Uttar Pradesh, India

Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi, India's prime minister-elect from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), watches a ritual known as "Aarti" during evening prayers on the banks of river Ganges at Varanasi, May 17, 2014.

Credit: Pawan Kumar/Reuters

Xiang Khouang, Laos

Rescue workers search an air force plane crash site near Nadee village, May 17, 2014.

The Laotian air force plane with at least 14 people on board crashed on Saturday, a defense ministry source said, and a witness at the site said the defense minister was among the dead.

Credit: Reuters

Obrenovac, Serbia

People stand on a terrace of their flooded house as they wait to be evacuated, May 16, 2014.

The heaviest rains and floods in 120 years have hit Bosnia and Serbia.

Credit: Marko Djurica/Reuters

Munshiganj, Bangladesh

Rescue workers stand on the partially salvaged M.V. Miraj-4 ferry after it capsized on the Meghna river at Rasulpur, May 16, 2014.

A Bangladeshi official said on Friday there was no chance of finding further survivors of a ferry that sank in a storm with about 200 people on board, the latest in a series of fatal ferry accidents to hit the country.

Credit: Andrew Biraj/Reuters

Istanbul, Turkey

A protester sits in a chair as he poses for a photograph during clashes with Turkish riot police using water cannons to disperse protesters taking part in a demonstration against the recent mine accident in Soma, May 22, 2014.

One man was injured when Turkish riot police today fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse a group of Istanbul protesters hurling Molotov cocktails and stones.

Tensions are high in Turkey with the approach of the first anniversary of deadly nationwide anti-government protests and in the wake of an unprecedented mine disaster that claimed 301 lives last week.

Credit: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images

West Bank, Palestine

A Palestinian protester runs from tear gas fired by Israeli troops during clashes near Israel's Ofer Prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 16, 2014.

Credit: Mohamad Torokman/Reuters

San Marcos, California

Fire crew put out smouldering embers from the Cocos Fire, May 15, 2014.

A towering wall of flames charged a hillside California community on Thursday as firefighters battled fierce wildfires that forced 125,000 people to flee homes in the San Diego area.

Credit: Sam Hodgson/Reuters

Italy

Migrants from sub-Saharan areas stand on a rescue boat of Italy's Navy ship San Giorgio after being rescued in open international waters in the Mediterranean Sea between the Italian and the Libyan coasts, May 14, 2014.

Italy's navy ship San Giorgio is one of five vessels involved in search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sicily - known as Mare Nostrum or "Our Sea" - to prevent shipwrecks of overcrowded migrant boats like the one in October in which 366 drowned a mile from the island of Lampedusa.

Credit: Giorgio Perottino/Reuters

Lod, Israel

An ultra-Orthodox Jew cuts the hair of his son near a bonfire, during celebrations for the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba'Omer in Kfar Chabad, May 17, 2014.

The holiday marks the end of a plague that killed thousands of Jewish scholars in ancient times, as well as the anniversary of the death of Bar Yochai, who rebelled against Roman rule and is believed to be the author of the Zohar, the core text of Kabbalah mysticism. Holiday traditions include lighting bonfires and cutting the hair of three-year-old boys for the first time.

Credit: Amir Cohen/Reuters

Boston, Massachusetts

Former President Bill Clinton walks onto the stage at Symphony Hall before accepting a City Year Legacy Award at a Boston Pops Concert Celebrating City Year's 25th Anniversary, May 22, 2014.

London, United Kingdom

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry leaves Stansted Airport to return to the United States from London, May 16, 2014.

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/Reuters

Cairo, Egypt

Member of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Beltagy speaks during his trial, May 18, 2014.

An Egyptian court jailed more than 160 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to up to 15 years in prison on Sunday, pressing a crackdown on the Islamist group before a presidential election former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to win.

Credit: Al Youm Al Saabi Newspaper/Reuters

Rome, New York

U.S. President Barack Obama greets people in the crowd gathered to watch him arrive on Air Force One at Griffiss International Airport, May 22, 2014.

Credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Brazilian artist Paulo Ito talks on his mobile phone next to graffiti he painted referencing the 2014 World Cup, on the door of a public schoolhouse, May 22, 2014.

The city of Sao Paulo will host the opening match of the 2014 Brazil World Cup.

Credit: Nacho Doce/Reuters

New York, NY

Richard Qiangdong Liu, founder, chairman and CEO of JD.com celebrates with employees as JD.com has its initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq exchange, May 22, 2014.

JD.com is a popular online Chinese retail site.

Credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Dhaka, Bangladesh

A man jumps off from a boarding ramp to a boat near a timber factory by the river Buriganga, May 18, 2014.

Credit: Andrew Biraj/Reuters

Surabaya, Indonesia

Damai, 3 years old Bornean orangutan plays at the courtyard of Surabaya Zoo as he prepares to be released into the wild, May 19, 2014.

Bosanski Samac, Bosnia

Dead cows to be taken away by the Bosnian military from a farm near the Bosnian town of Bosanski Samac along river Sava, May 20, 2014.

A new calamity emerged Tuesday in the flood-hit Balkans even as emergency workers battled overflowing rivers and evacuated thousands: tons of drowned livestock were posing a health hazard. With the rainfall stopping and temperatures rising, the withdrawing floodwaters revealed a harrowing sight: thousands of dead cows, pigs, sheep, dogs and other animals that were left behind after their panicked owners fled rapidly advancing torrents.

Credit: Amel Emric/AP

Trelew, Argentina

Marlene lies over the original fossilised femur of a dinosaur displayed on exhibition at the Egidio Feruglio Museum, May 18, 2014.

According to the palaeontologists Jose Luis Carballido and Ruben Cuneo, the fossils are that of a sauropod and preliminary tests dates the fossils at some 90 million years old.

The scientists said the dinosaur could be 130 feet long and 65 feet tall, and weigh at 85 tons, and it is a previously undiscovered species of titanosaur, an herbivore, which lived during the Late Cretaceous period.

Aleppo, Syria

Lisbon, Portugal

A member of the Aposento da Moita forcados group is tossed by a bull during a bullfight at Campo Pequeno bullring, May 16, 2014.

Forcados are traditional Portuguese bullfighters who catch bulls with their bare hands.

Credit: Rafael Marchante/Reuters

Bakersfield, California

Hero cat Tara, with the help of her owner Roger Triantafilo and team staff member Jade Henry, tosses the first pitch prior to the start of Bakersfield Blaze and Lancaster Jayhawks Single A baseball game, May 20, 2014.

The cat saved Roger's son Jeremy Triantafilo, 4, from a dog attack in the family's driveway.

Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Reuters

Colombo, Sri Lanka

A fan takes pictures as rapper Kanye West arrives at a fashion designer shop in Paris, May 22, 2014.

U.S. television personality Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West will celebrate their wedding in Florence on May 25, an official from the mayor's office confirmed on Friday.

New Delhi, India

A supporter of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dances during celebrations after learning of initial poll results outside the party headquarters, May 16, 2014.

Opposition candidate Narendra Modi will be the next prime minister of India, with early election results on Friday showing the pro-business Hindu nationalist and his party headed for the biggest victory the country has seen in 30 years.

Credit: Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters

Istanbul, Turkey

Flowers are laid at the place where Ugur Kurt was shot dead in Okmeydani cemevi, an Alevi place of worship, May 23, 2014.

A bystander, Ugur Kurt, who was attending a relative's funeral, was shot in the head apparently by a stray bullet as the violence flared on Thursday.

A second person died on Friday after clashes between Turkish police and protesters in a working-class district of Istanbul, stirring fears of further unrest as the anniversary of last year's anti-government demonstrations approaches.

Credit: Murad Sezer/Reuters

Bangkok, Thailand

Anti-government protesters celebrate as they board buses at the Royal plaza to take them back home after the coup was declared, May 22, 2014.

Thailand's army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha took control of the government in the coup on Thursday saying the army had to restore order and push through reforms, two days after he declared martial law.

Credit: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Arlington, Virginia

Army Col. Matthew Rasmussen, of the Army Military District of Washington, wipes tears from his eyes while visiting the grave of Army Staff Sgt. Richard Tieman, 28, of Waynesboro, Pa., as he and members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, also known as The Old Guard, places flags at grave sites at Arlington National Cemetery as part of the annual "Flags-In" ceremony in preparation for Memorial Day, May 22, 2014, at the cemetery in Arlington.

Tieman died May 18, 2010, in Kabul, Afghanistan of wounds suffered in a suicide car bombing.